Egyptian Parliament Speaker, Hanafy El-Gebali affirmed his support for efforts to reach a political settlement in Libya, including reaching a constitutional basis for elections.
This came during his press conference in Cairo, with the Speaker of the Libyan Parliament, Ageela Saleh, and the Head of the High Council of State (HCS), Khaled Al-Mishri. El-Gebali said that “Egypt, for a year and a half, hosted the constitutional track meetings, under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
El-Gebali added that the meetings culminated in a consensus between the two officials on a constitutional basis. This will serve as a starting point towards unifying Libyan institutions. He described the meeting that took place between Saleh and Al-Mishri in Cairo as “fruitful.”
Notably, Saleh and Al-Mishri issued a joint statement after their discussions in Cairo. They announced that the joint committee would refer all agreements to the two houses for approval.
They also agreed to set “a clear and specific” roadmap for elections. The roadmap, which is yet to be announced, aims “to organize elections and unify state institutions,” according to a joint statement issued by the two chambers.
Saleh thanked “Egypt and its political leadership for their great efforts to help Libya overcome its decade-long crisis.”
“Egypt has always sided with the interests of Libya and Libyans in order to be able to solve the crises, end foreign intervention in internal affairs, and help the Libyan state restore sovereignty,” Saleh added.
“The brotherly neighbouring state of Egypt has always encouraged Libyans to close ranks and exchange views. Not to mention that it has hosted and sponsored the various meetings and talks to secure a consensus, and find a lasting solution to the internal political divisions which have negatively impacted the lives of the Libyan people,” he noted.
